According to our research, hiring managers at Goldman Sachs ask soft skills interview questions 15% less than at other companies:

1. Walk me through your resumetop question

How to answer

This question is often asked at the beginning of the interview. The interviewer wants to hear a brief overview, a summary of your professional experience, in order to have a starting point from which they can dig deeper. Structuring your answer wisely gives you a good chance to emphasize your Key Selling Points and to channel the conversation in the direction you want.

About Yourself

Print out your resume. For each of your recent job experiences (at this point do not go back more than 5 years), write down 3-5 key points at which you feel you are strong. For example, for your current (or previous) job, you may want to list skills like “Excellent presentation skills,” “Employee Engagement guru,” “Analytical skills,” “Attention to detail” (they don’t have to be all soft skills, but being aware of at least a few of your strong soft skills is important). Make sure you have examples for each of your statements.

If you have difficulties to think of these points, search online for job descriptions for similar job roles, and figure out which of those keywords appeal to you. Look for people on LinkedIn that have jobs similar to the one you are applying for. Their profiles often contain many keywords that you can use in response to this question.

Now that you’ve gone through all your recent experiences, are there any points that repeat more often than others, or are especially important to you? These are candidates to be your Key Selling Points -highlight 3-5 of them.

About The Company

Research the company and the role for which you're being interviewed. When researching the company, find out what skills and qualities they value the most. Carefully consider the job requirements. What is it that you will be responsible for?

Now, write down 3-5 keywords from the job description that you find of utmost importance for this job role.

About The Fit

Try to establish the match between your own highlighted keywords, and those of the job description. These are your Key Selling Points! You should normally limit yourself by 3-5 such keywords or phrases.

Now, craft a story based on your career history. You don’t have to go in chronological order - you can start with your current or last job experience, and then go back to your previous ones, or focus on just the experiences that are relevant to your story, and only briefly mention the less relevant ones and only if needed.

Select one point to highlight for each phase of your career. Make sure you ingrain your Key Selling Points in the interviewer’s memory - after the interview is over, you want them to remember you as someone who is strong at XYZ, or experienced in A, B and C.

It's okay to focus more on stellar achievements and brag a little bit about them.

Pro Tip

Don't bore the interviewer by going through your resume line-by-line. Instead, WOW them by succinctly (keep it within 2 minutes) telling a story of how your career path has brought you to this point and how you are the best candidate for this role.

Super tip: The more you practice with Mr. Simon, the better you'll be at telling WOW-worthy succinct stories!

Statistics

This question is asked 10.3x more frequently at Goldman Sachs than at other companies.

2. Tell me about yourself

How to answer

This question may sound vague, but it actually requires a matter of fact, concise and relevant answer. Here’s how you can approach it.

About Yourself

What is your current occupation? Define yourself professionally in one statement. Pick 3 key skills that make you great at your work (your Key Selling Points). How have you applied these skills? Try to give some numbers to support your statement.

About The Company

Research the Company. Based on what you know about the company and the job description, why are you interested in the position you are applying for?

About The Fit

Based on your Key Selling Points and your knowledge about the company, why do you think you are a good fit for this position? Can you support your statement with relevant examples from your past experiences? Try to be concise and stay within 1-2 minutes.

Pro Tip

You can also end with a question like “Do you know what the current needs in the company/department are, where my skills and experience can help?" That can help you learn more about the company and the job, turn the "interrogation" into a conversation and will allow you to relax some tension.

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3. What is your greatest weakness?

How to answer

This question ranks as the most challenging for many people. Fortunately, Mr. Simon is here to help!

Interviewers ask this question to gauge your level of self-awareness, your honesty and openness, and your capability for self-improvement.

About Yourself

No one is perfect and your interviewer doesn't expect you to be perfect either.

While it is good to be honest and open, it will not help you to put yourself down. What's important is to find a weakness that you have overcome or something that is not related to the position for which you are applying.

For example, one of our clients admitted that he is not very good at public speaking and that he has recently become a member of Toastmasters International to improve. What a respectful answer and approach, in my view!

About The Company

Research the company (website, social media, etc) to learn about the company culture. What personal and professional qualities do they value?

About The Fit

It is important that the weakness you decide to talk about is not one that will prevent you from performing the job for which you're applying.

For example, if you're applying for a front-end developer position, do not talk about how you are struggling to understand HTML code.

Pro Tip

Use this question to sell yourself! It's important to show how well you've overcome a weakness by motivating yourself and learning a new skill to grow professionally.

Statistics

This question is asked 0% less frequently at Goldman Sachs than at other companies.

4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

How to answer

This question belongs to a family of behavioral, or even more precisely, reflective questions. The interviewer wants to see whether you are reflective about yourself, whether you are ambitious and strive to grow as a professional, whether you like to learn and develop your skills. They are also looking for your ambitions to fit the career path opportunities related to the position you are applying for.

About Yourself

Presumably, you are interested to grow professionally. Think about the possibilities that may lie ahead for you: take a personality test (I recommend 16Personalities which is a Myers&Briggs-based test), research the internet on what career paths are possible with your skills and current job. What challenges do you like overcoming? For example, if you are applying for a software tester position, you may find it fascinating to master automated testing in full and eventually become a software engineer, or you may be a natural trainer and love coaching other people which may lead you to become a QA team or department lead, or you may be more interested in understanding business aspects of requirements which may logically lead you into a Business Analyst position. However, if you are happy just where you are and want to further your current skills, that is also fine as long as there is a growth path for you that can be imagined and described.

About The Company

Research the company to learn what career opportunities may be available in the department you are applying to, and what the trends are in the company in general. Is the business expanding, are they opening new locations, or starting new projects? Or are they heavily automating and cutting staff? Let’s say you are applying for a UX designer position for a brand-new product. In the future, if the product becomes a success - which is what the company hopes for - the company will hire more designers and you may become a lead designer, or you may become a product manager.

On a side note: If you train your mind to be open to opportunities you will be amazed at how much this world has to offer to you!

About The Fit

And of course, try to see where the perfect fit lies between your own potential and aspirations, and the company’s trends and hopes. However, beware of the risk of showing too much excitement for future opportunities compared to your attitude towards the current position. If you aren’t really excited about the position you are applying for and you demonstrate this lack of enthusiasm, the interviewer may conclude that you are not a good fit for the current position. Try to find a source of excitement in the current position as well, otherwise, you may be doing yourself a disservice by applying to a position you will find boring in 2-3 months.

Pro Tip

This question gives you a good opportunity to showcase your Key Selling Points (e.g. “as I am very good at delegating tasks, I can easily see myself leading a team of software testers in the future…”), and end your statement by asking about current initiatives and goals at the company.

It is generally NOT a good idea to say something like “Oh, I cannot imagine what happens to me tomorrow, let alone in 5 years”. This will show you as a person who is unimaginative and not forward-thinking enough to grow with and be a good fit for the company.

Statistics

This question is asked 39% less frequently at Goldman Sachs than at other companies.

5. Why did you choose your major?

How to answer

Everyone has his/her reasons to pick a major. There are hundreds and hundreds of careers to choose from and most people pick a major that will give them a background in the career they want to pursue. When you come to a job interview you will be definitely asked this question. The interviewers are seeking to understand your underlying motivations for selecting this career. It is also a good question for them to learn how much planning and thought actually went into your career selection. It is a window into your personality and interests.

About Yourself

This is your chance to highlight your strengths and how your major prepared you for your future plans. Your answer to this question should reflect your passion and interest in the field you chose. Be genuine. There’s every reason to display your passions and interest in your major. They will give interviewers a sense of who you really are. Think about who or what influenced your career choice and include the positive influences, not the negative ones. How does this tie into your major? How will you bring your passion and unique knowledge to the new company? Emphasize your strong people skills and excellent communication skills, allowing you to connect with others. Think of the skills and experiences you gained through your major, think back to assignments and projects from your studies, internships and previous jobs. Consider the skills you developed working on those projects.

About The Company

Write down a list of skills and experiences you gained through your major studies. Then, look at the job listing itself. Match up any of your skills and experiences that relate to the requirements of the job. How can you apply them to your new position, as well as the future?

About The Fit

Use this question as an opportunity to mention a few skills related to your chosen major that would also be relevant in the workplace. Point to a good culture fit. Be positive, showing your enthusiasm. Let them know you're excited to be where you are. Discuss what you enjoy about the industry you’re considering and why you could see yourself working in it. Even if your major is not directly related to the job, you can likely find connections between the two. This is also a chance to explain other ways you have developed skills that will fulfill the role you're applying for. For example, perhaps you were a biology major who is applying for a job in computer programming. You might explain that you took a number of online and extracurricular classes on programming to develop the skills needed for the job.

Pro Tip

Let your past decisions and accomplishments shine through. Once you nail your interview, you'll be on your way to a successful career path.

Statistics

This question is asked 5.6x more frequently at Goldman Sachs than at other companies.

6. Tell me about your greatest professional accomplishment

How to answer

Of all your accomplishments (and I am sure you’ve had a great many of them!), you should choose the one most relevant to this job position.

About Yourself

Write down your Key Selling Points - your top 3-5 skills that make you a strong professional.

Write down a list of your top 3-5 professional accomplishments that you are most proud of. No need for lengthy descriptions, just 1-2 words for each one to help you recall each situation. Make sure you have developed the story behind each accomplishment and have a strong command of the details of what happened so that you can tell the story clearly and distinctly.

Along with each accomplishment, mark which of your Key Selling Points they showcase. How exactly?

About The Company

Based on your research of the company, what are their current needs? What are the major projects going on? What are the expectations for the position you are applying for?

About The Fit

Try to imagine yourself being an employee of the company you are applying to, say, at your 6th month into the job. Which of your Key Selling Points and accomplishments would be most relevant to the company? What “have you accomplished at your new job?”

Choose the most relevant accomplishment from your list and then practice telling your story.

Pro Tip

Most enterprises are now going through major transformations, often called Digital Transformation. Do your research on what it means and what is often involved, to get a better idea of the current goals and environments in companies. But one thing that definitely characterizes this transformation is striving for agility.

In particular, for startups (if you are applying to a startup or a small business), agility is their middle name, in order for them to survive among bigger sharks in the market.

So, demonstrating qualities like agility and adaptability should generally be helpful and quite a safe choice in most circumstances today.

Statistics

This question is asked 53% more frequently at Goldman Sachs than at other companies.

7. Describe a time you worked on a team with individuals from different cultural backgrounds

How to answer

Why do interviewers ask this question? Nowadays many companies rate global and cultural awareness as a key competency for all employees. For most jobs today, it is essential to be able to work well with diverse teams, including individuals who understand international and cultural differences and can interact respectfully with individuals from diverse cultures, political affiliations, races, religions, ages, genders and sexual orientations.

About Yourself

Answering this question highlights your ability to navigate cultural differences at work. Think about your team experiences and times when you’ve had to overcome differences with colleagues.

How do you adapt to working with team members of different communication styles?

Are you open-minded enough to consider all their ideas even if you don't agree?

How do you handle the differences in attitudes and values between you and people from other countries or backgrounds?

Do you show respect and are you diplomatic with those people?Maybe you haven’t worked with people from different cultures, but you may have been studying or been friends with people from different backgrounds. Address your personal life, if necessary, and emphasize your curiosity and openness to other cultures.

About The Company

A careful review of the job description, along with some research of the company will help you anticipate what aspects of global/cultural awareness are most important for a particular role in the company you are applying to.

About The Fit

Demonstrate your openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and the ability to interact respectfully with all people and show your understanding of individuals’ differences. Your task is to prove to the interviewer your ability to build strong and caring relationships based on trust and shared goals. Use the STAR method to tell a story about how your experience helped you to create an open and inclusive workplace environment, so all team members felt empowered to contribute. Ensure the interviewer that you are very comfortable working with team members from other cultures and possibly with different communication styles. Make it your advantage. For example, you can say something like: “At my recent work, representatives of different cultures participated in one common project. As a result, our team was able to approach the tasks from different viewpoints to reach a successful conclusion.”

Pro Tip

Working in a multicultural team has both advantages and challenges at the same time. In such a team you can broaden your outlook. Challenges that you have to overcome are: to understand other people’s language and culture, to get used to the different ways they think and work; to reduce mistrust that can be a barrier to understanding each other, and to promote awareness of cultural diversity in the workplace. If you overcome these challenges, you will be the ideal employee at any job.

Statistics

This question is asked 4.4x more frequently at Goldman Sachs than at other companies.

8. What is the biggest lesson you've learned from a mistake you made?

How to answer

It’s important to know how to answer a job interview question about mistakes. They ask questions like this to learn how you handle challenges. They also want to determine your weaknesses, and decide if you have what it takes to do the job well. It’s a chance for the interviewer to see that you can learn from your mistakes and use the experience to get better.

About Yourself

Do your best to tell a positive story about how the mistake was made, how you dealt with it and what learned from it. We all make mistakes from time-to-time. Answering some of the following questions will help you understand your own view of dealing with mistakes and their consequences. For instance:

How do you use a mistake to improve your abilities?

Are you self-aware enough to acknowledge failure and weakness?

Do you take smart risks?

How do you view success, failure, and risk in general?

Do you take responsibility for past mistakes instead of putting the blame on others?

If the situation repeats, what would you do differently? What would you do again?

About The Company

Before the interview, look over the job listing, research the company. Try to think of a mistake you have made in the past that is not too closely related to the requirements of the job you are interviewing for. What kind of challenges might you face if you get the job here?

About The Fit

It’s your opportunity to emphasize the skills or qualities you gained from your past negative experience that are important for the job you’re interviewing for now. Put a positive spin on your response by defining the “mistake” as a “learning experience” that led to your increased competency in the workplace. Talk about a specific example of a time you made a mistake. Briefly explain what the mistake was; quickly switch over to what you learned, or how you improved, after making that mistake. You might also explain the steps you took to make sure that mistake never happened again. Say that something you may have struggled with in the past has actually now become one of your strengths. Pick a story that ends with a compelling example of a lesson learned. Tell your story using the STAR method.

Pro Tip

Make absolutely sure that the interviewer understands that you learned from the experience. Never blame others for what you did (however, if you were part of a team failure, you could relate this experience, just be sure to own up to your part in it). Always be accountable for what you could have done differently in the failure. Demonstrate that you’ve had the maturity to benefit from previous “lessons learned” and you can move on with increased wisdom and competency.

Statistics

This question is asked 2.9x more frequently at Goldman Sachs than at other companies.

9. If I gave you $40,000 to start a business, what would you start?

Statistics

This question is asked 23.8x more frequently at Goldman Sachs than at other companies.

10. Describe a time when you resolved a conflict with a colleague in your past role

How to answer

Wherever you go, you will always have to work with people. This means that there is a greater chance for conflict to happen. This question helps the interviewer determine how well you would fit within the organization.

About Yourself

Think of the times you had to deal with conflict. What were the different ways you were able to address the situation? If you were the cause of the conflict, how did the other person talk you down from the conflict? What were the key lessons you learned through your experience?

About The Company

Research the company and its culture. What do they value? Is there anything that you can find about how they deal with conflict resolution? Reading comments to their social media posts often prove helpful to see how they react to customers' complaints.

About The Fit

What have you found out about the company’s culture and job description? Are they looking for someone who can take charge and resolve conflict?

Tell a story of how you addressed conflict and how it turned a negative into a positive. Try to conclude with your lessons learned or methodology for approaching conflicts - this will show the interviewer that you would be able to apply your methodology to future situations.

Pro Tip

A key to addressing conflict is listening, communication and emotional intelligence. Highlight these skills.

If you're able to, turn the question around and ask the interviewer if they have experienced the same thing. This will start a conversation, which is the goal of an interview.

Statistics

This question is asked 57% more frequently at Goldman Sachs than at other companies.

This page has been updated on March 26, 2020.

You can practice answering this question, as well as over 160 other common job interview questions from Goldman Sachs by engaging in a mock interview with Mr. Simon. As an artificial being, his undeniable benefits include: